The 7 Best Business Books For Young Professionals

Congratulations, spring chickens! You’re new to the professional world. And the odds are stacked against you. It’s near impossible to get a job. Barriers to entry in the corporate world are many and varied, but — take heart, jobseekers. We’ve got the seven best business books for your set.

Author Scott Smith has an MBA and a JD, has navigated the career world in several areas of the country, and lived to tell the tale. Between time management, networking, and resume preparation tips, Find Your Perfect Job is an invaluable resource for the clueless young jobseeker. Also found within is a detailed description of the differences in law school and business school. Smith encourages several thought exercises to help his readers identify their perfect job, and the tools to learn how to land it.

Young professionals often have to make many of their first career mistakes on their own, with trial and error being an infinitely better teacher than any sage advice. And women especially must learn to navigate the corporate world on their own. Luckily, there are a bunch of great books to help. Nice Girls is one of these, and men can learn some lessons from it, too. If you don’t speak up in meetings, ask for permission instead of speaking in intentional statements, or take infrequent breaks, read this book.

Keith Ferrazzi is known to be a master networker, and he reveals his secrets in this book. Don’t be invisible, constantly be in contact, and build real relationships in order to network. He’s got the best tips and behavioral advice for young professionals on the networking trail.

This one’s a classic, and it helps to provide a sense of balance to the conversation about professional relationships. Instead of critiquing the rules, Carnegie gives empowering personal tips to readers about how to conduct themselves in order to get results out of people. Great for new managers, those preparing for interviews, and anyone who needs a little motivation.

Billed as the world’s most popular guide for jobseekers, What Color Is Your Parachute? is updated yearly to reflect changes in the employment market. If you aren’t sure of your skills, interests, or marketable talents, begin here. For the totally clueless, or those who find themselves on the job market after years out of the grind. The earlier in your career and more often you read this book, the better off you’ll be matching your cultivated gifts to your job search.

With the shift to a postindustrial economy, the markets, our purchasing behaviors, and pricing evaluations are markedly different than at any other time in our world’s history. In contrast to an antiquated view of growth through expansion of product offerings, How Companies Win details the demand-driven model used by Best Buy, Hershey’s, and a host of other conglomerates. Expand your thought process, your definition of “winning,” and your professional acuity.

Need a quick fix for your interview tomorrow? Microwave some dinner and snuggle up with this book. It’s a digestible, readable guide to networking, interviewing, and generally making yourself more marketable to potential employers. They may not teach corporate in college, but you can learn it in several go-rounds with this page-turner.